Current Rocket Build

[JoeFilgas]

Estes Mercury Redstone Liberty Bell Rocket: it’s coming along nicely! Gave the rocket it’s satin white base coat today. I also did some detail painting on the escape tower and on the capsule.

 

[JoeFilgas]

Build pics.

 

[Hobie1dog]

 

[JoeFilgas]

Thank you!

 

[Huxter]

Yeah, nice paint job. The black on the tower nozzles look real!!

 

[JoeFilgas]

Yeah, nice paint job. The black on the tower nozzles look real!!

Thank you!

 

[JoeFilgas]

Yesterday I finally got the launch escape tower glued down. That was a little nightmare! The end result of that was much touch up paint of black, silver and red! Got the bottom roll pattern masked and painted today! There’s an 1/8 inch black stripe on the top of the pattern and I’ll be adding that next. The color demarcations came out really clean with only a couple of small touch ups needed.

 

[Huxter]

Nice job - keep goin'! Painting scale roll patterns can be a challenge. I usually take short-cuts. People that see my rockets cannot tell any difference.

 

[JoeFilgas]

Nice job - keep goin'! Painting scale roll patterns can be a challenge. I usually take short-cuts. People that see my rockets cannot tell any difference.

Thanks!

 

[JoeFilgas]

Couldn’t wait and had to add the 1/8” stripe on the top of the roll pattern. Used automotive pin striping tape. Will see how it holds.

 

[Cape Byron]

Couldn’t wait and had to add the 1/8” stripe on the top of the roll pattern. Used automotive pin striping tape. Will see how it holds.

I use it all the time. Good for the maskingly challenged.

 

[teepot]

I use pin stripping on some of my rockets. Been doing it a couple of years. I have a bunch of different colors. Your rocket looks great.

 

[JoeFilgas]

I use it all the time. Good for the maskingly challenged.

LOL! I could mask, but I already spent three hours doing that today…needed some instant gratification if you know what I mean!

 

[JoeFilgas]

I use pin stripping on some of my rockets. Been doing it a couple of years. I have a bunch of different colors. Your rocket looks great.

Thank you!

 

[dpower]

Looks great! Despite the plastic capsule & tower, it is tough to get together well. Masking the fins was tough too, sadly, mine drifted away a few years ago, so built a K-41 to replace it.

 

[JoeFilgas]

Looks great! Despite the plastic capsule & tower, it is tough to get together well. Masking the fins was tough too, sadly, mine drifted away a few years ago, so built a K-41 to replace it.

Thank you! I’m trying to remember it’s only a $30 dollar rocket so I’ll plan on building others if something goes awry.

 

[Pappy]

you do great work.

those towers are a pain. i've built a couple and i had great difficulty getting all the base points to line up correctly, then looking down on the tower, both were off center. much manipulation, re-glueing, glue wiping, touch up paint required. also, the three point assembly of the capsule itself is weird. i'd like to see a kit, any scale really, with a balsa cone and dowels to sand and place for the tower. i have a vague memory of having to sand dowels to different diameters to build the escape tower for some old estes kit. unsure if it was the redstone or the 1b.

love the idea of the one piece launch version of the tower, and made me wonder if you could encase the fragile assembly inside of acrylic or some such without adding too much weight.

 

[JoeFilgas]

Thank you! I’ve ordered some 100lb Kevlar and a 12” chute to allow the capsule and escape tower come down by itself in a tower saving attitude as per the old Centuri option. Hopefully that will mitigate the issue.